The number of children in Japan has continued to decline for the 43rd consecutive year and remains at a record low, according to data released by the Japanese government on May 4, as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government is taking unprecedented measures to address the issue.
The number of children under 14, including foreign children, as of April 1 was 14.01 million, down 330,000 from a year earlier, according to data released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications a day before Children's Day in Japan (May 5). The figure represents a decrease of 0.2 percentage points to 11.3 percent of the total population, the lowest since comparable data began to be available in 1950.
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According to United Nations (UN) data, Japan has the second lowest child mortality rate among 37 countries with a population of at least 40 million, behind only South Korea at 11.2%.
Newly released data also shows that in Japan there are currently 3.17 million children aged 12 to 14 compared to 2.35 million children under 2 years old, reflecting a trend of fewer children being born.
The number of children in Japan has been falling since 1982. Government data also shows that by prefecture, only Tokyo and neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture had more than 1 million children as of October 1, 2023, while the number of children in Osaka Prefecture fell below 1 million for the first time since the country began compiling statistics by prefecture in 1970.
Prime Minister Kishida's government is seeking to pass legislation aimed at addressing the country's rapidly falling birthrate by boosting financial support for families raising children and expanding childcare services.
According to VNA/Tin Tuc Newspaper
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